Blog

In praise of tea!

May 27, 2020

In so much of modern life it’s the loud, the brash and the intense that grab all the headlines and are deemed desirable; in the case of caffeinated drinks that would undoubtedly be coffee.

Tea provides a calmer, quieter, gentler counterpoint that I really appreciate. But more than that, it also brings with it a whole raft of health improving benefits that make it a really valuable addition to a healthy lifestyle.

The fundamental importance of movement

May 21, 2020

“The reason flowing water does not become putrid and the hinges of a door do not rust is because they move. The physical body and its qi are like this too. If the body does not move then the essential qi does not flow. If this does not flow then the qi clogs up.”

Chinese Medicine has many quotes like these that illustrate the importance of movement as one of the foundations of health.

 

Eating Well, Part 2

May 13, 2020

This blog takes the discussion in a more Chinese Medicine specific direction, and focuses on temperature.

Chinese Medicine is in many respects an agrarian medicine: it was borne of a time where growing food was the primary activity for the vast majority of the population.

Accordingly, a lot of the language and metaphor used in Chinese Medicine reflect an intimate relationship with the external environment, nature and the seasons: people’s fundamental ‘health type’, particular health pathologies, and the foods we eat are all classified using concepts such as hot or cold, damp or dry etc.

Eating well, Part 1

May 8, 2020

What we should eat, what we shouldn’t eat, what tastes good, which key ingredient will transform your life etc: certainly one of the most discussed subjects on the Internet. There’s a deluge of information out there, so I will try to keep my contribution fairly brief.

This blog in particular will focus on three general principles of eating well: eat slowlyeat simply, and support your microbiome.

How to be well

May 8, 2020

Reading much of the media coverage of the current covid-19 pandemic, it’s both notable and understandable that the emphasis is overwhelmingly on “how we avoid getting the virus”. Here I want to focus on the other side of the equation, an area which I’d argue is being overlooked amidst all the fear:

How can we be as well as possible: how do we cultivate robust health, a calm mind, an adaptable nervous system, and an optimally functioning immune system?